Technologies

Antarctica Logs ‘Record-Smashing’ Low for Sea Ice, Says NASA

The bad news keeps coming as scientists monitor the levels of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice.

NASA may be famous for its space exploits, but it’s just as concerned with what’s happening on our own planet as it is with what’s going on out yonder. Researchers from NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center are tracking sea ice levels on both ends of the globe. A report released this week shows some grim data.

Satellite observations show that Arctic sea ice most likely reached its annual minimum extent on Sept. 19, logging the sixth-lowest year based on records dating back to 1979. The news from the other pole was even more bleak.

«Antarctic sea ice reached its lowest maximum extent on record on Sept. 10 at a time when the ice cover should have been growing at a much faster pace during the darkest and coldest months,» said NASA in a statement. In short, both regions are lacking ice.

Top-down view of the Artic in white with Greenland marked. Yellow line shows media ice edge from 1981-2010. The current white ice area is notably smaller.

Sea ice is disappearing in the face of a warming world. Loss of sea ice affects the people who live in the Arctic as well as the animals and ecosystems at the polar regions. But it also plays a role in the global climate. Read a deep dive on the climate consequences of a «sea ice free» Arctic.

«While bright sea ice reflects most of the sun’s energy back to space, open ocean water absorbs 90% of it,» said NASA. «With greater areas of the ocean exposed to solar energy, more heat can be absorbed, which warms the ocean waters and further delays sea ice growth.»

Satellite data collected between March and September shows that Arctic ice cover shrank from 5.64 million square miles (14.62 million square kilometers) to 1.63 million square miles (4.23 million square kilometers). To put that in perspective, NASA said the lost sea ice could cover the entire continental US. Research points to a long-term decline in Arctic sea ice, with spring melting starting earlier and autumn freeze-up starting later. The ice has also become thinner over time.

NASA released a video with a visualization of the sea ice changes:

In Antarctica, satellite data shows that sea ice reached its lowest winter maximum extent on Sept. 10 with a coverage area of 6.5 million square miles (16.96 million square kilometers). That’s 398,000 square miles (1.03 million square kilometers) less than the previous record low, set in 1986. «It’s a record-smashing sea ice low in the Antarctic,» said NSIDC scientistWalt Meier.

Top-down view of Antarctica in white indicates the extent of sea ice on Sept. 10, 2023, the lowest maximum on satellite record.

NASA called out some potential factors for the lack of Antarctic sea ice, including warming ocean temperatures and the recurring natural weather pattern of El Niño. El Niño delivers higher than normal surface temperatures in parts of the Pacific Ocean. Earlier this month, NASA declared summer 2023 as the hottest on record, pointing to climate change and El Niño as culprits.

Human-caused climate change is fueled by greenhouse gas emissions. The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions traces the majority of these emissions — largely from the burning of fossil fuels for energy — to China, the US and the European Union. The highest per capita emissions come from the US and Russia.

The NSIDC notes that this year’s Antarctic and Arctic sea ice numbers are still preliminary and may be adjusted based on continued observations. Researchers are working on a full analysis while comparing this year’s data with historical records.

What’s key is this likely isn’t an anomaly. Meier said the Arctic changes represent a «fundamental, decades-long response to warming temperatures.»

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for July 14, #764

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for July 14, #764.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

There are some TV and movie references in today’s NYT Connections puzzle. If you spent your childhood in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, you’re sure to get one of them. That purple category, though … good luck! Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Think paint and crayon names.

Green group hint: Vroom-vroom.

Blue group hint: King Friday XIII and Queen Sara Saturday.

Purple group hint: Twist some Disney names.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Shades of blue.

Green group: Adjectives for a sports car.

Blue group: Words before «Roger/s.»

Purple group: Disney animated characters plus a letter.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is shades of blue. The four answers are baby, ice, powder and sky.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is adjectives for a sports car. The four answers are compact, fast, sleek and sporty.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is words before «Roger/s.» The four answers are Ginger, Jolly, Mister and Roy.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Disney animated characters plus a letter. The four answers are abut, belled, flounders and scary.

Abut = Abu from Aladdin

Belled = Belle from Beauty and the Beast

Flounders = Flounder from The Little Mermaid

Scary = Scar from The Lion King

Technologies

Microsoft Plans to Purge Passwords — Here’s How to Protect Yours

Come August 1, all your saved passwords will be gone from the Authenticator app unless you export them.

Microsoft is moving closer to a password-free future, and if you’re still using the Authenticator app to manage logins, big changes are coming fast. Starting Aug. 1, the app will no longer support passwords at all. This shift has already been in motion-new password creation was disabled in June, and autofill support was cut off in July.

For years, Microsoft Authenticator was a go-to for managing both multi-factor authentication and saved passwords. But now, it’s being refocused to support passkeys instead. That means your logins will soon rely more on things like PINs, fingerprint scans, or facial recognition-more secure, faster and harder to steal than a standard password. If you’re still relying on Authenticator for password storage, it’s time to move your data elsewhere before it disappears.

Attila Tomaschek, CNET’s software senior writer and digital security expert, said that’s not a bad thing, though.

«Passwords can be cracked, whereas passkeys need both the public and the locally stored private key to authenticate users, which can help mitigate risks like falling victim to phishing and brute-force or credential-stuffing attacks,» Tomaschek said.

Passkeys get rid of the risky password habits practiced by 49% of US adults, like using the same password for multiple accounts or using personal hints, according to a CNET survey. However, those convenient hints can pose a bigger risk to scammers, identity theft and fraud.

If you’re a fan of Authenticator and not sure where to start before the switch, here’s what you need to do before Microsoft’s Aug. 1 move.

When will Microsoft Authenticator stop supporting passwords?

Microsoft Authenticator houses your passwords and lets you sign into all your Microsoft accounts using a PIN, facial recognition like Windows Hello, or other biometric data like a fingerprint. Authenticator can be used in other ways, such as verifying you’re logging in if you forgot your password, or using two-factor authentication as an extra layer of security for your accounts. In June, the company stopped letting users add passwords to Authenticator.

Starting this month, you won’t be able to use the autofill password function. And next month, you’ll no longer be able to use saved passwords.

If you still want to use passwords instead of passkeys, you can store them in Microsoft Edge. However, CNET experts recommend adopting passkeys during this transition. «Passkeys use public key cryptography to authenticate users, rather than relying on users themselves creating their own (often weak or reused) passwords to access their online accounts,» Tomaschek said.

Why are passkeys a better alternative to passwords?

So what exactly is a passkey? It’s a credential created by the Fast Identity Online Alliance that uses biometric data or a PIN to verify your identity and access your account. Think about using your fingerprint or Face ID to log into your account. That’s generally safer than using a password that is easy to guess or susceptible to a phishing attack.

Passkeys aren’t stored on servers like passwords. Instead, they’re stored only on your personal device. More conveniently, this takes the guesswork out of remembering your passwords and the need for a password manager.

How to set up a passkey in Microsoft Authenticator

Microsoft said in a May 1 blog post that it will automatically detect the best passkey to set up and make that your default sign-in option. «If you have a password and ‘one-time code’ set up on your account, we’ll prompt you to sign in with your one-time code instead of your password. After you’re signed in, you’ll be prompted to enroll a passkey. Then the next time you sign in, you’ll be prompted to sign in with your passkey,» according to the blog post.

To set up a new passkey, open your Authenticator app on your phone. Tap on your account and select «Set up a passkey.» You’ll be prompted to log in with your existing credentials. After you’re logged in, you can set up the passkey.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for July 13, #763

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for July 13, #763.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle wasn’t as tough as some puzzles are. I spotted the four purple category words right away. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Not a compliment.

Green group hint: Spammers want this.

Blue group hint: Read on.

Purple group hint: Cheers!

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Insult.

Green group: Credit card info.

Blue group: Slang for printed matter.

Purple group: Wine nicknames.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is insult. The four answers are burn, knock, slight and zing.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is credit card info. The four answers are expiration, name, number and zip.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is slang for printed matter. The four answers are glossy, mag, rag and zine.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is wine nicknames. The four answers are bubbly, cab, chard and zin.

Quick tips for Connections

#1: Say the clue words out loud, pausing before and after each. That helps you hear the words in the context of a phrase. The Connections editors love to group words together that are used in similar phrasing, like ____ Up.

#2: Don’t go for the obvious grouping. These editors are smart. Once, they offered SPONGE, BOB, SQUARE and PANTS in the same puzzle. None of those words were in the same category. If you like, hit the «shuffle» button to give yourself a different perspective on the words.

#3: Break down any compound words and look for similarities. «Rushmore» was once in a puzzle where the connection was that each word started with the name of a rock band